Unemployment Relief On The Way

Unemployment relief should be available by March to persons who lost their jobs as a result of the current world economic crisis.

Finance Minister Dr Errol Cort says beneficiaries will have to meet certain requirements. The applicant must be a citizen or legal resident, and must have contributed to Social Security and Medical Benefits for a minimum of 12 months, with the last contribution prior to unemployment.

Applicants must not have reached pension age, and unemployment must be as a result of downsizing or the current world economic crisis, dating back to October 2008. All applicants must demonstrate that they have been seeking employment, and must register at the Labour Department.

The finance minister said recipients would be asked to go through training or retraining, as they may be called upon to perform duties within the public sector.
The self employed are not exempt, but must meet certain requirements as well, including contributing to both statutory bodies for a minimum of 12 months.

Dr Cort noted that persons turned away from their job because of negligence would not qualify.

Upon approval, recipients will receive 60 percent of their weekly salary, to a maximum of $1,200 per month.

The minister said the programme is a temporary measure which will run for 13 weeks, distributed by the Social Security Scheme.

"Attempts were made to introduce the programme as a benefit offered by the Scheme, but the Social Security Act does not allow for the organisation to offer such programmes," Dr Cort said, noting that the relevant laws would be looked at.

The programme is eligible to cover approximately 1,083 people, with a spending capita of $1.3 M.

Dr Cort noted that the government has been making its contributions to the various statutory bodies for the past year to pave the way for the programme's introduction.

Applications will soon be available, and the minister said "anything that is necessary to ensure the smooth flow will be put in place."

The government has received kudos from the IMF for the implementation of the programme. They first announced plans to introduce the fund in
the 2009 budget.

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